Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III aren't the future

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is helped off the filed after an injury during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Landover, Md., Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
— AP

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is helped off the filed after an injury during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Landover, Md., Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
/ AP

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Football fans have gone cuckoo for Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III.

Any fan whose team has had issues with a quarterback this season is clamoring for a clone of either one. I've heard it from Chargers fans all season long during Philip Rivers' struggles.

If you owned either in your fantasy league, you likely made the playoffs, especially with the way Newton has played over the last month.

The way I hear it, the old quarterback mold is being retired for a new one patterned after these guys.

Every quarterback of the future will be Barry Sanders with a laser rocket arm who can make all the throws and be a leader of men. Get ready for Sega Genesis numbers every year!

(What? I'm a child of the 80s. You expect me to reference newfangled technology like the Xbox 720?)

Look, there's one problem.

If we fast forward ten years, the NFL isn't going to be populated by 30 other quarterbacks who match the athleticism, arm strength, instincts and overall playmaking ability — arm or leg — that Newton and Griffin bring to the table.

They're special. Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson have similar skill-sets, but they're the exception, far from the rule.

Who's up next? West Virginia's Geno Smith? I don't think so.

The college ranks isn't going to churn these guys out on the regular, the same way Joe Montana's, Dan Marino's and John Elway's weren't popping up everywhere thirty years ago.

If I'm starting a team — real or fantasy — I still want a quarterback who is athletic, sure, but makes his living from the pocket, like Aaron Rodgers.

The NFL rules are designed to protect signal callers. The League wants the offense to thrive at the expense of the defense. It has done everything it could to make the game easier on the quarterback, but there are limits.

As long as they stay behind the line of scrimmage, safely tucked within a bubble created by their offensive line, a quarterback can stay healthy and productive for 15 years.

(For Chargers fans, a clean pocket is what happens when an offensive line does its job correctly. I know its been a while.)

However, as soon as the quarterback leaves his safe place, all bets are off.

If Michael Vick has taught us anything — outside of be kind to animals — it's quarterbacks who leave their protective zone rarely play an entire season unscathed. Griffin has learned that lesson in his rookie year and it's costing fantasy owners in the worst way. Newton will learn it as well.

Even when they're successful running the football, they accumulate more wear and tear than the average quarterback.

Also, the road to the Super Bowl has not been traveled by many dual-threat passers. Steve Young, Steve McNair and Donovan McNabb are the only ones who've made the game in the last 25 years. Young is the only one who won.

The sky is the limit for Newton and Griffin, but their explosion onto the scene is not a harbinger of their position's evolution.

This is not the 3-4 defense or the West Coast offense.

Give me Tom Brady. Give me Peyton Manning. And yes, give me Rivers. If you can protect these guys, they will take you much further, while providing more stability.

I look forward to marveling at the brilliance of both Newton and Griffin — and even Kaepernick and Wilson — but at my fantasy draft next season, I'll pass.